Miqueliopuntia miquelii
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Miqueliopuntia miquelii |
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Miqueliopuntia | ||||||||||||
| Frič ex F.Ritter | ||||||||||||
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| ( Monv. ) F. Knight |
Miqueliopuntia miquelii is the only species of the monotypic plant genus Miqueliopuntia in the cactus family(Cactaceae). Both the botanical name of the genus and the epithet of the species honor the botanist Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel .
description
The relatively small, upright, bush-like Miqueliopuntia miquelii forms large thickets of up to 1.5 meters in height and several meters in circumference. Its clearly articulated, strong, cylindrical shoots are 7 to 20 centimeters long and reach a diameter of 3 to 6 centimeters. The warts are prominent, elongated, and well defined. The fleshy leaves are reddish, pointed, 3 to 5 millimeters long and fall off early. The approximately 60 areoles found in all parts are hairy. Glochids are always present. They are 4 to 8 millimeters long and are usually found in the upper part of the areoles. The round areoles are 4 to 7 millimeters apart. The 8 to 16 slender, needle-like thorns are yellowish to dark brown. The numerous, upright and uneven thorns, which can be up to 8 centimeters long, arise from all areoles.
The white to pale pink flowers do not open completely. They appear near the shoot tips and are up to 7 inches long. Its cylindrical, humped pericarpell is covered with bristles. The perianth segments are short.
The pale green to whitish fruits are spherical to elongated and covered with bristly thorns. The variably shaped seeds are yellowish white to ocher and 3.5 to 5 millimeters long.
Distribution, systematics and endangerment
The distribution area of Miqueliopuntia miquelii stretches along the Chilean coast from the Elqui Valley to north of Copiapó and extends to altitudes of 1500 meters.
The name of the genus Miqueliopuntia has been in use since around 1929. A valid description was only given in 1980 by Friedrich Ritter . The first description of the only species as Opuntia miquelii was made in 1838 by Hippolyte Boissel de Monville .
In the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN , the species is listed as " Least Concern (LC) ". H. listed as not endangered. The development of the population is seen as increasing. The seeds and shoots of the plants are spread by guanacos .
proof
literature
- Edward F. Anderson : The Great Cactus Lexicon . Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8001-4573-1 , p. 435 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Friedrich Ritter: Cacti in South America: Results of my 20 years of field research . Volume 3, 1980, p. 869.
- ^ L'Horticulteur Universel, Journal Général des Jardiniers et Amateurs . Volume 1, p. 218, Paris 1839 ( online) .
- ↑ Miqueliopuntia miquelii in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.3. Posted by: Faundez, L., Saldivia, P. & Walter, HE, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
